(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa in 1997, and I’m now 60 years old. I wanted to tell you about my cultivation experiences and thank Master Li Hongzhi for encouraging me on my cultivation path.
My health declined significantly after my second child was born in 1996. My abdomen was bloated and I felt as though I might die. When my baby was one month old, my husband took me to see doctors, and we tried traditional Chinese medicine, Western medicine and other methods, but there was no improvement. They said postpartum ailments were difficult to treat.
I could hardly eat or sleep, and days felt like years. When my baby was four months old I was forced to undergo sterilization due to China’s one-child policy. Afterward, my body completely collapsed. I felt so miserable that I wanted to die.
My heart was heavy when I looked at my two young children. What should I do?When I was in the deepest pain my elderly neighbor told me, “I have a book for you. After you read it, you’ll be all right.”
Even though I was dubious I started reading Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Dafa. I had little education so I couldn’t read many characters. However, the word “cultivation” touched a chord in my heart. I thought, “I want to cultivate.” As I continued reading, I became excited when I saw the words, “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.” I thought, “This is what I’ve been looking for!”
A miracle happened. I went to the toilet a dozen times that day. My belly was no longer bloated and my pain disappeared. I felt relieved and carefree. I felt hungry and I could eat all kinds of food. Master made me healthy and saved my life! I began practicing Falun Dafa.
I watched the videos of Master’s Fa teaching lectures with other practitioners at my neighbor’s home. With my youngest son in my arms, I listened attentively, and I did not want to miss a single word. When my son fell asleep, I took him home so that my husband could watch him, and I rushed back to continue listening.
I experienced several miracles and those two years are the happiest of my entire life.
In July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to persecute Falun Dafa. Since so many people in our village practiced, we were targeted for severe persecution. The village officials cooperated with the local police station, and monitored and followed practitioners. Police vehicles often circled our village, ready to ransack our homes at anytime and to intimidate practitioners. The police broke into my home several times, and my children and husband, who did not practice, were terrified.
However, we practitioners were determined to uphold Dafa. We often distributed informational materials around our village, as well as in neighboring villages. One evening, several practitioners went to a village 20 miles away to pass out Falun Dafa brochures. On the way, we saw a police vehicle heading south. When we reached the west side of the village, suddenly, a practitioner shouted, “Run!” By the time I realized what was happening, the police vehicle was very close to us and unfortunately, one practitioner was detained by the police.
I ran into a wheat field and lost my way. I knew my home was in the west, so I walked in that direction. Along the way, I passed several wheat fields and jujube tree groves. The thorns of the jujube branches caught my pants, and my legs were pricked, causing sharp pain. As I walked, wild cats or weasels often jumped out onto my path. I had always been timid, but at this moment I thought, “I have no fear, as Master and Dafa are with me.”
As I walked I noticed a light, about the size of a pot cover, ahead of me. This light moved slowly at a steady pace, brightening my way. I immediately understood: Master was leading me home. I walked on and on, following this light. I came to the edge of a ditch and noticed a white woven sack. I remember seeing this sack when I left our village, so I knew I was almost home.
It was already past midnight by the time I got to my house. When I opened the door, my husband silently knelt in front of me, with tears in his eyes. I knew he wanted me to give up Dafa for the sake of our family. I understood his suffering. However, Dafa is more precious than my life. How could I give it up? I didn’t say anything.
My husband knelt for a long time, then he got up. Since then, he has continuously supported me in my practice.
I was a pampered daughter before I married. My parents and two older brothers adored me, and I grew up in a loving environment. When I reached marriageable age, I met several promising men, but none worked out.
When my parents met my future husband they immediately disapproved because of his complicated family. He had three elderly brothers; only the oldest one was married, and his third brother was intellectually disabled.
However, nothing could stop a predestined relationship. In the end, I joined this complicated family. At first, my husband and I lived by ourselves. Before I began practicing Falun Dafa I was nice to my in-laws. I often shared gifts with my in-laws that my parents gave me and I bought them supplies when I went shopping.
We were poor then and could not afford to eat meat very often. After I began practicing every time I made stuffed steamed buns, I divide them into two batches: the ones with more meat filling went to my in-laws, while my own family ate the ones with less meat and more vegetables.
Over the course of more than a decade, my husband’s parents and a brother-in-law passed away one after another. I was afraid that another brother-in-law was lonely, so we went to his home to dine with him.
After my second brother-in-law passed away, my husband wanted to sell his goats because we did not have time to care for them. However, my third brother-in-law insisted on keeping them even though we knew he rarely took care of them. We had no choice but to give in. I had to cut grass in the field every day, pile it up in the yard, and ask my brother-in-law to feed them. However, he seldom fed the goats. The grass rotted, and the goats became thin.
My husband finally found a man who agreed to buy the goats. His brother was angry and tried to hit him, but the buyer escaped. My brother-in-law vented all his anger on me and picked up a shovel to hit my head. I didn’t know what was happening. My son acted swiftly and blocked the blow.
I felt wronged and angry. However, I still demanded of myself that I treat him with kindness. My brother-in-law had bad teeth so I made him porridge. When I cooked noodles I cut them short so he could eat them easily. I took good care of him for seven years before he passed away.
My husband’s uncle was also single and lived by himself. I often brought food to him. When I noticed he was missing something I provided it. When he was busy working in the field I brought his dirty clothes home and washed them. He often praised me to the other villagers so I was well regarded.
My husband’s oldest brother left one son after he died. I often invited him and his family to my home to eat. Once, when I handed him a bowl of noodles he took the bowl and threw it in the yard. My husband was angry and scolded him. However, I held no grievance against him and treated him nicely as before.
My husband and I have been married for more than 30 years. Several elderly family members have passed away, as well as my three brothers-in-law. There have been times when I felt aggrieved. However, I have been determined to follow Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance and I want to be a true practitioner. Everyone in the village knows I am a good person.
I slacked off when the cultivation environment improved. I gradually stopped cultivating for several years until I met a diligent practitioner one day at the market. We chatted for a while. She said, “We came to this human world together, so we must return to heaven together.” Her words touched me deeply, and tears streamed down my face. I said to myself, “I must practice again and never give it up.” However, many troubles rained down all at once in the days that followed.
My son was married and had a young son at that time. My daughter-in-law gambled on multiple websites and lost over 200,000 yuan. My husband and I had no choice but to help her pay her debt. We used our hard-earned money to pay off over 100,000 yuan on her behalf. Unexpectedly, right after that, she divorced my son, leaving their young son crying for his mother. This situation was tearing my heart out and I developed a strong resentment toward her. Several times, I wanted to confront her and show her the statement that I paid off her debts, and publicly denounce her for her heartlessness. However, I could not do anything because my husband was hospitalized with serious illnesses. I was exhausted both physically and mentally.
One day, I received a phone call from my daughter, asking, “Mom, where are you? Can you talk?” I knew something was wrong. I told myself I had to stay calm no matter what happened. My daughter said, “My brother hit a person, and he died.” My husband and I borrowed 150,000 yuan to compensate the deceased person’s family.
All these situations occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, when I just resumed cultivating. Those major tribulations truly put me to the test. However, I was determined to practice Dafa. I told myself that I would never give up cultivation no matter what happened. Gradually, I let go of the resentment toward my daughter-in-law. My grandson grew up studying Falun Dafa’s teachings with me.
I have increasingly realized the importance and urgency of informing people about Falun Dafa. I felt that talking face-to-face is the most direct way to help people understand. So I talked to my neighbors, friends, vendors, and my grandson’s friends about Falun Dafa.
My grandson is now nine years old, and many of his friends come to my home to play with him. I believed Master arranged for them to come to learn the truth about Dafa. I usually tell them about the beauty of Dafa and, in simple language, and help them quit the CCP’s associated organizations. Many of his friends learned the truth about Dafa and quit the these organizations.
When my grandson’s classmate visited him I handed her a Popsicle, pointed to the Minghui calendar on the wall and said, “We want to be good people, by following ‘Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance’. Look at the baby, how lovely. If you say ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,’ you will be as smart and kind as that baby.”
She listened as I continued, “People who joined the Young Pioneers should consider quitting so they can enjoy a good future.” The girl started to cry. My grandson asked me, “Grandma, what happened?” I replied, “She was very moved after learning about Falun Dafa.” She nodded her head vigorously. I knew that her knowing side was very happy because she understood the truth.
This incident moved me greatly. Everyone in this world is waiting to learn about Dafa. We must make good use of the time Master provided us and help him save more people.
I feel guilty that I slacked off and let Master down. I am determined to cultivate diligently in the future, and help Master save more people.